


what heaven did you leap from, dear love?

by loosingletters, obikinn



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, First Kiss, Fluff, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Humor, M/M, Miscommunication, Missions, Sparring, Tropes, terms of endearment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26794720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loosingletters/pseuds/loosingletters, https://archiveofourown.org/users/obikinn/pseuds/obikinn
Summary: Surely Obi-Wan hadn’t meant to call him that. It was just a slip of the tongue, he told himself. But that didn’t stop his heart from racing and his palms from getting sweaty.Or, five times Obi-Wan calls Anakin “dear one” and one time Anakin says it back.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 28
Kudos: 593





	what heaven did you leap from, dear love?

**Author's Note:**

> “Dear one” as Obi-Wan’s term of endearment for Anakin is the best part of Obikin fanon, and so we challenged ourselves to write the cheesiest, tropiest 5+1 centered around the term. Warning, you might die of sweetness.
> 
> Title comes from the poem “Dear One” by Mary Lambert.

1.

It felt like every time Anakin saw Obi-Wan now he was filling out some sort of report. The war had kept him so busy, and they barely had time to hang out like the old times. Anakin was busy too, he had just been settled with a Padawan after all, but Obi-Wan hardly seemed to get a quiet minute anymore.

“Master, when are you gonna be done with that report?” Anakin whined from where he was lying on Obi-Wan’s couch on the _Negotiator_.

“I’d be finished more quickly if you didn’t keep interrupting me, Anakin,” Obi-Wan replied, not looking up from his stack of datapads. He was wearing a thick-rimmed pair of reading glasses, ones that Anakin hadn’t seen before.

“I like your new glasses.”

Now Obi-Wan did look up from his datapad, turning his tired gaze towards Anakin. He rolled his eyes. “Oh, please don’t mock me, Anakin, I know they make me look old,” he said, frowning.

 _Old?_ That wasn’t exactly the first word that came to Anakin’s mind. The glasses drew attention to Obi-Wan’s eyes, mesmerizingly sapphire.

“Even without glasses, you can’t hide who you really are from me, old man,” Anakin said, 

Obi-Wan just sighed and turned back to his work. Anakin stretched out, his sore muscles protesting. He had rushed away from his duties as soon as he could afford to, wanting to spend at least some time with his Master before they were shipped off to the other ends of the galaxy again.

“Maaaaster, are you gonna be done soon? I thought we were gonna watch the newest episode of that trashy holodrama you like, the one with the Jedi and the Senator?”

“It’s called Romance of the Skies, and it is _not_ trashy. Please have some patience, dear one,” Obi-Wan said, and Anakin froze. _Wait, what?_

Surely Obi-Wan hadn’t meant to call him that. It was just a slip of the tongue, he told himself. But that didn’t stop his heart from racing and his palms from getting sweaty. 

Anakin tried to think of a witty response, but all his brain could do was replay Obi-Wan’s soft “dear one” like a broken holorecording.

He must have been silent for longer than he thought, because Obi-Wan looked up from his work again. “Anakin, is everything alright?”

Anakin let out an unnaturally high-pitched laugh. “Yep, everything’s a-okay, nothing wrong here, I’m perfectly fine. No need to worry about me,” he said, the words spilling out of him.

Obi-Wan fixed him with a look of concern. “Are you sure?” he asked gently.

No, he wasn’t. But Anakin couldn’t tell him the reason for his panic, not in a million years, so he just nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

2.

The planet Kantras was located right next to a hyperspace lane that would cut the length of the travel from the Outer Rim to the Mid Rim in half. Establishing a base on it would significantly aid the Republic in this war and so the Senate had insisted on sending the Team to negotiate with the locals.

It probably made sense from a strategic point of view, sending two known Jedi, but Anakin had no idea what he was doing here. He was not a smooth talker like Obi-Wan and had barely said a word in the last 10 hours as their hosts stubbornly refused to listen to them. And it probably didn’t help that Anakin didn’t speak the local language, whereas Obi-Wan was, of course, fluent. Their hosts spoke some Basic but preferred to communicate in their own tongue.

From what Anakin understood, nothing had changed from when they had arrived earlier that day. It all felt so futile, and he was exhausted. Obi-Wan and their hosts continued their chatter, as Anakin let himself slump in his fancy chair. His eyes began to flutter close and the negotiations faded away. Suddenly, he felt a light touch on his shoulder and jerked back into consciousness, but relaxed again when he realized it was just Obi-Wan. Everything sounded quieter than before, almost unnaturally so. Anakin opened his eyes and noticed everybody had stopped talking and all the dignitaries were staring at him and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan’s hand remained frozen on Anakin’s shoulder, grounding Anakin when he started to fret. Had he done something offensive by falling asleep?

That couldn’t be it. Most of the people in the room had looked just as tired as him, but all exhaustion had been replaced by shock and surprise. The king’s jaw was dropped.

“If only we had known that you were both _ekaji_!” the king exclaimed, breaking out into a grin. He began to ramble back in his native tongue, speaking with a level of enthusiasm that Anakin hadn’t seen before.

Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment but then smiled and replied. As he spoke, his arm made its way around Anakin’s shoulders, wrapping him in warmth. Anakin wasn’t sure why Obi-Wan was pulling him into a hug during a diplomatic meeting, but he was going to take all the affection he could get and melted into the embrace.

The negotiations resumed with newfound enthusiasm, and Anakin could feel Obi-Wan’s elation in the Force. The gentle strokes of Obi-Wan’s hand soothed Anakin and their talk faded into white noise again. That was, until Obi-Wan turned to Anakin and said, “Isn’t that right, dear one?”

Anakin’s eyes widened and he tensed. “Yes, of course,” he replied dazedly. He had no idea what he was agreeing to, and so looked towards Obi-Wan for clarification, but only saw a fond expression across his face. Fondness? Towards _him_?

They resumed talking, but all Anakin could hear was “dear one” echoing in his head. Two times could still be a coincidence. But Obi-Wan wasn’t so careless with his words when he was the Negotiator, unlike when he was spending an evening relaxing with his former Padawan.

Just a few minutes later, they had successfully negotiated the construction of a base on Kantras, and the diplomats began to file out of the room. Soon enough, it was only Obi-Wan and Anakin left.

Obi-Wan slowly withdrew his arm, and Anakin’s heart crumpled. The room felt twice as cold as before. With everybody gone after a day of excruciating debate, the atmosphere should have felt more relaxed, but it somehow felt just as tense as before. They stared at each other.

“So, uhhhhh, what was that all about?” Anakin asked, holding onto a shred of hope that perhaps Obi-Wan had meant it.

Obi-Wan flushed bright red, in a shade that Anakin had yet to witness. “I’m sorry, Anakin, I shouldn’t have been so foolish. In the Kantran culture, a shoulder touch is among the most intimate of gestures. The king assumed we were _ekaji_ , a word for which there is no exact Basic translation.”

Anakin furrowed his brow. “Then what’s it close to?”

If Anakin didn’t know any better, he’d say Obi-Wan was flustered. Obi-Wan paused before replying with, “The closest translation would likely be ‘soulmate.’”

Now they were both blushing. Anakin studiously avoided eye contact as he ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s so crazy, Master, how could anybody think that?” he said, desperately trying to make things less awkward and ignoring the pang in his heart.

Obi-Wan laughed, though it sounded a little forced. “Exactly, but it helped the negotiations finish up. Apparently the Kantrans hold ekaji in high regard, so thank you for playing along. I’m so sorry to have put you in that position.”

“Don’t worry about it.” _I didn’t mind_ , he didn’t say. “I’m just glad this is finally over. No need to talk about it again.” Anakin tried to smile convincingly, hoping Obi-Wan wouldn’t press the subject. Obi-Wan stared at him strangely for a moment longer, but dropped it. Life returned to normal, or at least as normal as it could be with the extra weight in Anakin’s chest.

3.

If Anakin had any less of a headache, he would feel guilty about waking Obi-Wan up at 2:00am. He had tried falling asleep but it just got worse with every passing hour, and he knew only Obi-Wan stocked up on the tea that helped lessen the pounding in his brain. He probably should have gone to the Halls of Healing to treat his fever but crossing the hall to his former Master’s quarters was so much easier.

Finally, after a minute of incessant knocking, Obi-Wan opened the door. His hair was a mess and he was wearing his sleeping clothes, clearly having rolled out of bed just a moment prior. _He’s beautiful,_ Anakin’s tired mind supplied. Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes as he said, “Anakin, what are you doing here so early in the morning? Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep now that we’re back at the Temple?”

“I tried,” Anakin replied. “But I’ve got a headache and I was wondering…”

Obi-Wan sighed and stepped aside to let him in. “Yes, you can have some of my sapir tea.” Anakin grinned and headed for Obi-Wan’s sofa, sprawling out immediately. Sometimes it felt like he spent more time on this sofa more than his own bed.

“You know, I thought I gave you some boxes of tea last time you came by,” Obi-Wan said over his shoulder as he started up the kettle.

“Well, you did, but Ahsoka took it all again, and now I’m all out. You know how she is,” Anakin said with a laugh.

Anakin couldn’t see Obi-Wan’s face as he prepared the tea, but his presence in the Force was warm as always. “You know you’re welcome here any time, Anakin. You don’t need to give away my tea to Ahsoka just to see me.”

He rolled his eyes, even as his heart swelled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Master. Ahsoka’s a tea demon.”

“How’s she doing, by the way?”

Anakin relayed a story of their latest misadventure, and the two of them fell into an easy banter as the tea brewed. Each word Anakin spoke irritated his sore throat, but he found that he didn’t mind too much, just enjoying chatting with Obi-Wan.

He didn’t notice how much time had passed until Obi-Wan brought over two mugs, one of them Anakin’s favorite: a garish neon green one he had bought as a joke on one of their missions years ago.

The aromatic scent of the tea already eased Anakin’s headache just from holding the mug in his hands and breathing in. He raised it to his lips and took a sip, reveling in the warmth. The taste always reminded him of peace, and Obi-Wan.

“Is it alright?” Obi-Wan asked, drinking his own cup.

“Do you even have to ask?” Anakin replied, smiling into his mug. They sat together on the couch in a calm silence. Anakin finished his cup and looked to the side only to find Obi-Wan’s face inches away from his own.

His brain short-circuited, and he quickly flung himself further away. Obi-Wan shot him a look of concern, and Anakin winced. “Sorry, Master, I don’t want to get you sick.”

Obi-Wan huffed. “Don’t be silly. I’ll be fine, come back here.”

Anakin glanced at where he had been sitting, then back at Obi-Wan. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Anything for you, dear one.”

The term still made Anakin’s heart flip, but he was too tired to think about why Obi-Wan was still calling him that. He didn’t deserve it, but just in this moment, he let himself believe it. Brimming with fondness, he climbed back over to the couch.

They continued to chat idly through the night, what they were saying not mattering so much as just being there together in a brief moment of peace. Anakin felt his eyes droop more than once, but forced himself to stay awake. They drifted closer and closer together until their limbs entangled casually. He wished he could stay there forever.

“It’s late, I should get back to my quarters,” Anakin said after delaying for too long. But he was so tired, and his quarters were so far away, and Obi-Wan was right here...

4.

“—and we’ve discovered an extra patrol stationed on the south side of the planet, so Rex, take another squadron with you,” Anakin said, gesturing at the map on the holoprojector. He had been explaining his strategy for the joint assault by the 501st and 212th for the past thirty minutes, and he was starting to get tired. But finally, he was done, and he nodded at his men. “Briefing adjourned.”

Everyone began to disperse and leave the room, but Obi-Wan made his way over to Anakin. Anakin gulped, expecting Obi-Wan to make his typical comments about the risky maneuvers. But instead, Obi-Wan just smiled.

“Brilliant plan, dear one,” Obi-Wan said, before patting Anakin on the shoulder and walking away again. Anakin smiled back, trying to conceal just how much he enjoyed the moment. Obi-Wan had taken to calling him “dear one” more and more often, and he was almost getting used to the strange affection. He yearned for so much more than just the petname, but he would take what he could get.

He turned around to fetch his Padawan and return to their rooms but found Ahsoka staring at him with a smirk on her face.

“What’s the matter, Snips? Excited for the action?” Anakin asked, scrutinizing her face, but her expression didn’t change.

“Since when have you and Master Kenobi been together, Skyguy?”

Anakin spluttered, and glanced wildly around the room to see if anybody else had heard, but luckily it was empty. “What are you talking about? Me and Obi-Wan together? What a crazy joke,” he said, running his hand through his hair.

Ahsoka squinted at him. “Brilliant plan, _dear one_ ,” she sang in a bad Coruscanti accent. “What was that all about, then?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, that means nothing,” Anakin said, wincing.

“But do you want it to mean something?”

Anakin opened his mouth again to deny it, but the words didn’t come. Ahsoka’s smirk melted away into a more serious expression as she realized the depth of the flame in Anakin’s heart.

Even with nobody else in the room, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s not like that, Ahsoka. He’ll never love me that way.”

5.

The training salle at 3:00am was dark except for the gleam of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s clashing blades. The two of them had taken to sparring at night to avoid the crowds of awestruck Padawans hoping to see the Team in action. Anakin didn’t mind showing off, normally, but it was nice to have a time that was just for them. He appreciated the intimacy of the hour, though he would never admit that to Obi-Wan.

Anakin continued his brutal assault with his usual powerful strikes, but Obi-Wan countered them all effortlessly. They circled around each other like a dance, their bodies well-accustomed to the other’s rhythm after years of dueling together. Their harmony was unparalleled.

A storm of tension grew in the Force with every step, every jab, every parry. Adrenaline rushed through Anakin’s veins as he savored the intensity. The world melted away until it was just the two of them and the heat of their sabers.

They had eased into a comfortable pattern of exchange when Anakin thought he spied an opening in Obi-Wan’s normally impenetrable defense. He feigned a left strike before lunging to the right, but Obi-Wan sidestepped his attack and weaved inside Anakin’s guard. In one swift move he kicked one of Anakin’s legs back and, with his one free hand, pushed him to the floor. Before Anakin had the chance to get back up again, Obi-Wan fell forward and pinned him down, bringing his lightsaber dangerously close to Anakin’s neck.

Anakin felt the heat radiating off of the saber, but it wasn’t as much as the heat coursing through his body. Obi-Wan’s face hovered inches above Anakin’s, and their breath intermingled. The only sounds were the hum of the saber and their heavy panting.

He felt drawn magnetically towards Obi-Wan, and he thought he wouldn’t be able to move even if Obi-Wan wasn’t pinning down his hips and shoulders.

“Yield, dear one,” Obi-Wan whispered with a rasp, caressing the syllables with an intensity Anakin had never heard before. He shivered, and stared at Obi-Wan’s lips, which were tantalizingly close.

“Solah,” he whispered back, his voice high-pitched and strained. Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber, plunging the room into darkness, but he didn’t move. Without the light, Anakin searched in the Force for a sign, and thought he caught a hint of _desire_.

For a moment, Anakin almost dared to hope that Obi-Wan would lean down and connect their lips. His heart raced as he imagined the possibility of his pathetic feelings being returned.

But after another too-long moment, Obi-Wan pulled away without a word, and Anakin’s hope shattered into pieces. He should have known better than to dream, he thought as he laid there all alone on the training salle floor.

+1.

“NO!”

Time screeched to a halt as Obi-Wan toppled down beside Anakin. Just a moment ago, they had been fighting side-by-side in yet another battle, and the win had been almost theirs. Anakin had let his guard down briefly to just enjoy the synchrony of their motions. And that brief moment had cost him everything.

Obi-Wan was the one who had been shot, but Anakin felt like he was in just as much pain as his other half. He leaped forward and slashed the remaining droids with no mercy before rushing to Obi-Wan’s side.

Luckily, Obi-Wan hadn’t fallen unconscious yet. Anakin scooped his body into his arms, searching desperately for the wound. Obi-Wan’s body twitched and Anakin felt terror streak through him like lightning.

“No, no, no, Obi-Wan, stay with me, Master, you can’t die like this, _please_ ,” Anakin rambled, the fear pulling every word out of his mouth, leaving no thought unsaid.

Memories of their life together flashed before Anakin’s eyes: all the fights, all the tea shared together, all the inexplicable nicknames, all the moments of _almost_. He couldn’t bear to live in a world without Obi-Wan, the one who was dearest to him.

Obi-Wan tried to move again, and started to say “Anakin—” but Anakin shushed him and laid a hand on Obi-Wan’s hair, carding through it with shaky hands.

“Obi-Wan, don’t leave me, I love you, dear one—”

“Anakin, stop with the dramatics, I’m fine!”

Anakin froze as Obi-Wan sat up. Panic still thrummed through his body before he registered fully what Obi-Wan had said.

“Are you sure? You always downplay your injuries.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Yes, dear one, the shot just grazed the back of my knee and I was taken by surprise.”

A weight fell off of his shoulders and Anakin breathed in relief. He smiled at Obi-Wan’s face, way too close to his own, when he suddenly realized all that he had just confessed.

“I’m so sorry, Master, I’m not expecting you to return my feelings, we can forget this ever happened, I’m really sorry—”

Obi-Wan placed a finger on Anakin’s lips, and he shut up instantly. “Don’t apologize, Anakin. All I must ask is this: did you really mean it?”

He hesitated. This couldn’t possibly be reality, and at any moment Obi-Wan was sure to push him away. But there was no going back now. “I meant it. Every word.”

There was no trickery in Obi-Wan’s expression, only undeniable fondness and adoration. “I love you too, dear one.”

Their lips met, and Anakin finally felt complete.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> We hope you enjoyed it. We'd love to hear what you think!


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